Leveraging on the expansion of its technological and service transformation over the past year, Sri Lanka’s premier retail bank, HNB PLC, announced the launch of a new and improved Shanthi Home Loans product that aims to offer an unprecedented level of simplicity and convenience for customers seeking to build or develop their dream home.

Updated to meet the changing requirements of customers in an increasingly fast-paced Sri Lankan market, HNB’s updated Shanthi Home Loans product aims to deliver the most flexible and competitive loans in the market to suit any requirement, from the purchase of land, property, apartments, to construction and condominium financing, including foreign currency home loans.

The versatility of HNB Shanthi Home Loans is complemented by the addition of a host of value added services including comprehensive support for all legal and other documentation requirements through dedicated agents, who will also provide doorstep mortgage advisory services.

The bank’s recent up-scaling of its technological capacities through the consolidation of its back-end processes has also enabled drastic improvements in the speed at which HNB processes documentation, enabling a remarkable 2-day loan approval process; ideal for customers relying on a speedy response to their loan applications.

HNB’s value-added services are rounded out by its pioneering Shanthi Home Loan – Loyalty Card programme that gives customers access to exclusive discounts on construction materials, roofing, tiles, fittings, furniture, accessories, gardening supplies, equipment and much more, sourced from over 70 of Sri Lanka’s most respected and reliable dealerships.

“If there is one feature to describe our newly updated Shanthi Home Loans product, it would be convenience. Our goal in consolidating all our value added services into a standard offering is to ensure that we remove every possible obstacle to the purchase of their dream home”.

“Especially in the case of professionals, entrepreneurs and executives, the process of buying or developing a home can be tedious, time consuming and difficult. By offering complete support that takes care of every step of the process, we are confident that HNB Shanthi Home Loans now offers the smoothest pathway to new home,” HNB Personal Financial Services Head, Viraj Mendis explained.

Additionally, clients seeking to purchase a condominium property can now enter into tripartite agreements with HNB and the developer of their choice to receive loans that commence during construction in order to allow customers the benefit of lower prices on advance purchases. These agreements have been facilitated by HNB, which has established links with over 50 of Sri Lanka’s most respected property and real estate developers. Each prospective customer is given the option of taking a grace period for their home loans according to their requirement.

“By the time construction is completed, a customer may not have sufficient finances to furnish the house. In such a situation we can step in to grant up to 25% of the value of the original loan as an additional loan. Furthermore, we have focused on rewarding customers for their loyalty and timely repayment.

“If the existing facility is being repaid satisfactorily customers can obtain a second loan from us to build or purchase another house, as an investment or home to let for additional income. We also offer a loyalty card with a wide range of discounts on building material such as cement, steel, paint, fittings, décor furniture and even for gardening. Therefore we invite all of those interested in setting up their own dream home to contact HNB and experience our world class service first hand,” HNB Personal Financial Services, Senior Manager, Kanchana Karunagama said.

Offering a smooth and hassle-free loan process, the HNB Shanthi Home Loans have been perfected by the bank for over 22 years in the Sri Lankan market and today is considered to be one of the most sought-after lending products available in the domestic banking industry.

Operating across 251 customer centres, the bank’s reach has been further augmented through the introduction of cutting edge technology aimed at enabling a new paradigm in Sri Lanka’s banking culture. HNB has received recognition from numerous international and local institutions, including Best Bank in Sri Lanka for 2017 by The Banker Magazine UK and a further 09 awards for Best Retail Bank in Sri Lanka by the Asian Banker Magazine, and continues to set new benchmarks in the Sri Lankan banking industry.